DPWH project bidders need tax clearance

Prospective contractors and suppliers of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will no longer be allowed to directly bid for any of the government’s projects unless they secure a tax clearance.

In a statement released by the DPWH on Friday, a tax clearance will now become a prerequisite for contractors and suppliers intending to implement any of its projects.

DPWH Secretary Rogelio Singson, who approved Department Order 47, said the tax clearance will now become one of the Class “A” documents to determine the eligibility of the prospective bidders.

Singson said its inclusion among the requirements was in compliance with the Government Procurement Policy Board (GPPB) resolution no 21-2013.

“This requirement application will certainly expose the real capacity of contractors in handling major projects of the department,” Singson added.

Further, the DPWH secretary has already ordered the bids and awards committees in central, regional and district offices to disseminate the new policy to prospective bidders.

Before the resolution was approved, the DPWH had only ordered prospective bidders to present as Class “A” document requirements registration certificates from the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Cooperative Development Authority as well as a mayor’s permit from the city or municipality of the prospective bidder.

The tax clearance issued by Bureau of Internal Revenue discloses the current assets and liabilities of the taxpayers, which are factored in the computation of the net financial contracting capacity of prospective bidders.